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Google's instant app tech now lets you try games before you buy
Google doesn't really make games on its own, but with Android, it supports one of the biggest developer communities out there. As such, the company is sharing some news at the Game Developers Conference that'll be of interest to both players and devs alike: The "Instant App" technology that Google added to Android last year can now be used on games, as well.
Google announces 30 finalists for its first indie games festival
Google's first indie gaming festival is less than a month away, and today the company is announcing the 30 games that made the cut for the competition. You can find the whole list here, but note that you won't be able to try out all of them just yet -- 20 of the 30 games haven't been released in Google Play yet. Games that are out in the store now include Chetan Surpur's Orbit, High Score Hero's Hovercraft: Takedown, Double Coconut's Parallyzed and Roofboot (both still in beta) and Worthing & Moncrieff's A Matter of Murder. (The full list of games can be found here.)
Google's first indie gaming festival comes to San Francisco this fall
Indie game developers, Google wants to hear from you. The company has just announced the first Google Play Indie Games Festival, and you can submit your game for consideration now. The festival, which will take place Sept. 24th in San Francisco, will highlight 30 upcoming and recent games that will be available in the Google Play Store to Android users, with prizes going to the top submissions.
Google wants you to livestream Android games
Google is about to introduce some behind-the-scenes frameworks that should make playing and sharing Android games considerably easier. On top of expanding Android game recording to let developers add the feature themselves (due in the "coming months"), it's adding a live streaming feature. If you want to share your Alto's Adventure exploits on YouTube as they happen, it'll be an option. Details aren't available as I write this, but it could do a lot to expand the live game streaming community beyond console and PC players.
Google Play Games ditches the Google+ log-in requirement
Your Google+ account continues to get a little less useful. The folks in Mountain View announced today that Google Play Games would not longer require the aforementioned log-in. Over the coming weeks, titles integrated with the company's gaming hub will transition to new Gamer IDs. You don't have to wait, though, as you can secure a handle with the Google Play Games app right now. Choose from over 40 avatars for your profile picture while you're at it.
Google Play Games no longer needs a Google+ account
Google's plan to scrub Google+ requirements just went one step further. Sometime this year, Google Play Games will no longer require a Google+ account to function -- you can just use a basic Google account to start playing. You won't get nagging permissions requests, and the new approach will sign you in for every game you have rather than one at a time. That should make life much easier, especially if you didn't want personal details linked to your game sessions.
Android can record your mobile gaming sessions
Google doesn't want YouTube Gaming to be populated solely with videos from consoles and PCs. It's rolling out a feature in the Google Play Games app that lets you record 480p or 720p footage from any Android game that supports the Google Play framework. All you do is pick the game from the GPG app and start capturing -- when you're done, you can edit the clip before sending it YouTube's way. You can have it record your on-camera reactions, too, if pure gameplay isn't entertaining enough. Only US and UK gamers will have access to recording in the next few days, but more countries are coming "soon after."
Your next Android phone won't have as many pre-installed apps
If you never use Google Play Games, Google Play Books, Google+ or Google Newsstand, than good news: none of them will be installed on your next Android phone. The suite of apps used to be mandatory for any manufacturer that wanted to sell a device with essential apps like Google Play and Gmail, but new partner guidelines have taken them off of the required pre-install list. Put simply, this means there will be just a little more free space on the next Android smartphone you buy. And if you do use those apps? They're still available -- you'll just have to download them from the Google Play store to use them. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Local multiplayer is coming to Android games
Ever wish that you could just whip out your Android device and harass a passer-by to play games with you? It's the sort of thing that Nintendo 3DS users, for example, have been using thanks to that company's StreetPass feature, but, until now, hasn't been available on Google's smartphones. Now, however, the company has an added an update to its games infrastructure that enables "ambient, real-time" games with more than one user - so long that the game relies upon Google's home-grown multiplayer backend. Still, maybe don't sprint into the street and start challenging people to a duel, because they might get the wrong idea.
Google helps devs create cross-platform Android and iOS multiplayer games
The annual Game Developers Conference descends on San Francisco this week, and Google's wasting no time in sharing its news. For gamers, Mountain View's said it'll be launching a "game gifts" service for sending in-game swag to other players, and increasing the number of game categories in the Play store to 18 in the hope you'll stumble upon titles you might like easier. More important, however, is what devs can do with the new features of Google Play game services, a back-end tool for managing leaderboards, achievements and more in Android, iOS or web games. Multiplayer support has been added for iOS games, and via an update to the Unity plug-in, cross-platform multiplayer between Android and iOS devices is now possible. These features have to be implemented by developers, of course, but next time you see that friend who's always arguing the merits of one mobile OS over another, you might just be able to settle the discussion in-game instead. Update: A new version of Google Play services is rolling out to support the new features. Version 4.3 supports the new gifts feature, as well as tie-ins to Google's recently updated Drive API for storage.
Google Play Games for Android now shows you who wants to play
Google Play Games just became much, much more useful for avid Android gamers. A newly released update to Google's entertainment hub lets you see all your invitations; it's now much clearer that someone wants to play. The upgrade also shows you a not-quite-live view of who's playing, and a new Find Games area (shown here) suggests titles you can try. Play Games still won't compare with advanced gaming frameworks like PlayStation Network or Xbox Live, but it's likely worth a download if your smartphone regularly doubles as a handheld console.
Google Play Games app launches today, provides a portal for tablet gamers (update: it's here)
Today Google unveiled a brand new Play Games app, that serves as a companion hub and portal for the Google Play Games Services, announced at I/O. The app serves as a front end for viewing leader boards and connecting with friends (from your Google+ circles, of course), simplifying the act of challenging them in head-to-head competitions. Play Games, in addition to serving as a place to track all of your achievements and other such gaming goodness, serves as a single repository for launching all your games. Think of it like Steam, but for your Android tablet or phone, and with a slightly less graphically-impressive library of titles. Asphalt 8 Airborne, Riptide GP2 and Prince of Persia The Shadow and the Flame are will be among the first to take advantage of the new Play Games App, with the latter hitting virtual shelves tomorrow. Update: It's now available on Google Play; hit the source link for your download. %Gallery-194560%
Google Play Games service confirmed by Eufloria HD update
Need more evidence that Google is preparing a Game Center-like platform dubbed Play Games? Look no further than the "What's New" section of your favorite Android game. At least one title, Eufloria HD, received an update today that explicitly states it has support for Google Play Games Achievements. According to the changelog, the title will now allow you to sync those achievements with your Google+ profile and share them with your circles. Guess the cat is pretty officially out of the bag at this point. Now we'll just have to sit tight for a little while longer and wait for the folks at Mountain View to explain all the fun little details to us. [Thanks, Peter]
'Google Play Games' uncovered as Android's home for invites, achievements and more
A Google-built alternative to Game Center on iOS and Games Hub on Windows Phone surfaced last month, and we know even more about it. Android Police dug into a new Play Services (an Android component you don't access directly, but does things like update Google apps) APK, and found the latest version hid a massive update getting ready for Google Play Games. Although it's not directly accessible yet, so far it's revealed support for system wide notifications, standardized notifications managed by Google+, and cloud synced game saves to work across multiple devices. Also built in are the other parts of any modern gaming service like matchmaking, leaderboards, achievements, lobbies and such. Exactly how all this works and how devs will put it to use will probably be revealed next week at Google I/O, but for now there are a few more screenshots beyond the source link.
